{"id":25602,"date":"2026-01-10T20:39:42","date_gmt":"2026-01-11T01:39:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=25602"},"modified":"2026-03-22T09:22:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-22T13:22:10","slug":"you-should-be-so-lucky","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25602","title":{"rendered":"You Should Be So Lucky"},"content":{"rendered":"

You Should Be So Lucky<\/em><\/a> (2024) Cat Sebastian<\/a> (Midcentury NYC #2)<\/p>\n

\"YouSet in NYC in 1960<\/p>\n

Eddie O’Leary made a mess of things when he reacted badly to being traded. Now his teammates hate him, the fans hate him, as far as he can tell everyone in NYC hates him. And now he can’t hit a baseball to save his life.<\/p>\n

Sportswriters are the reason everybody hates Eddie. Okay, Eddie\u2019s big mouth is the reason everybody hates Eddie, but he might have been able to keep it a secret if it hadn\u2019t been for the reporters.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mark Bailey has been coming into the paper to write so that he won’t have to be at home, surrounded by all the reminders of what he lost.<\/p>\n

(T)he waitress is tilting her head to the side and regarding Mark quizzically. \u201cYou\u2019re pork chops and applesauce. Where\u2019s mister lamb with mint jelly?\u201d <\/p>\n

Mark looks\u2014there\u2019s no other word for it, he looks stricken.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Mark’s boss has given him an assignment: write a series of “diaries” about Eddie O’Leary, and see if that will help sell some papers. So Mark interviews Eddie, enjoying the distraction if nothing else.<\/p>\n

That doesn\u2019t seem to be what Eddie wants at all. It seems like he wants someone to talk to. The fact that he\u2019s choosing a reporter is yet more proof that Eddie O\u2019Leary has dangerously terrible judgment, and he\u2019s just lucky that Mark isn\u2019t a monster.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This is a story about grief and loss.<\/p>\n

(H)is fingers automatically close around the handles of two mugs, and he goes still. It had taken him weeks\u2014months, maybe\u2014to break himself of that habit, and now here he goes again. He rests his head against the smooth wood of the cabinet door and tries again. One mug. He drops in the teabag, pours in some water, and calls it a success.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Both Mark’s loss of his partner and Eddie’s loss of his security and his swing.<\/p>\n

There are things that should probably matter more to Eddie. \u201cBut it\u2019s been ten years. I\u2019ve spent ten years hardly thinking about anything other than this game and how to get better at it. And this is the first time there hasn\u2019t been an answer.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

But out from the center of Mark and Eddie are other characters. There’s George.<\/p>\n

Junior is not Andy but rather Andy\u2019s seventy-year-old father, because George is old enough to have worked for Andy\u2019s grandfather. <\/p>\n

…<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd you don\u2019t want to retire?” <\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d rather walk into traffic.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And Price and Ardolino.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Price steers Ardolino toward the dance floor. Sam Price stays behind long enough to pour out half of Ardolino\u2019s drink into Eddie\u2019s glass.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWhere\u2019s Price?\u201d Mark asks, realizing that he rarely sees Ardolino without Price. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe says getting arrested isn\u2019t as fun for him as it is for the rest of us,\u201d Ardolino says. \u201cHe\u2019s sitting this one out.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

It’s baseball after Jackie Robinson, but not that long after.<\/p>\n

It’s people making messes of their lives and trying to crawl back out of the holes they’ve dug themselves into.<\/p>\n

And it’s two men slowly falling in love, despite the danger.<\/p>\n

…(T)he fact that Mark just said that, out loud, on a telephone where operators could be listening in.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I didn’t think I wanted to read a story set in the US in the 1950s.<\/p>\n

I was wrong.<\/p>\n

Characters<\/strong>: Edward James O’Leary, Mark Bailey, Andrew Fleming III, Nick, Lilian, Maureen, Lula, William, George Allen \/Jacob Apfelbaum, Cindy Wertheimer, Frank Fendall, Constance Newbold, Tony Ardolino, Buddy Rosenthal, Luis Serrano, Sam Price, Mrs. Price, Carmen and Bobbie Iglesias, Pete, Kathleen Brodowski<\/p>\n

Cover by Elle Maxwell<\/p>\n

Publisher: Avon<\/p>\n

Rating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You Should Be So Lucky (2024) Cat Sebastian (Midcentury NYC #2) Set in NYC in 1960 Eddie O’Leary made a mess of things when he reacted badly to being traded. Now his teammates hate him, the fans hate him, as far as he can tell everyone in NYC hates him. And now he can’t hit […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,292,33,207,148,26,56,934],"tags":[649,147,213,544],"class_list":["post-25602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-ebook","category-historical","category-mental-health-rep","category-queer","category-romance","category-sexual-content","category-trigger-warnings","tag-alcoholism","tag-cat-sebastian","tag-grief","tag-mm"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-6EW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":25572,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25572","url_meta":{"origin":25602,"position":0},"title":"After Hours at Dooryard Books","author":"Michelle","date":"December 10, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"After Hours at Dooryard Books (2025) Cat Sebastian Set in NYC in 1968 Patrick has worked for Dooryard Books since Mrs. Kaplan picked him up and gave him a place when he was seventeen. He may have reconnected with his brother and best friend, Susan, after being kicked out by\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"After Hours at Dooryard Books","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/After-Hours-at-Dooryard-Books-188x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":25615,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/25615","url_meta":{"origin":25602,"position":1},"title":"We Could Be So Good","author":"Michelle","date":"January 11, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"We Could Be So Good (2023) Cat Sebastian (Midcentury NYC #1) Set in NYC in 1958 Nick is a reporter at the New York Chronicle, I job he worked hard to get, and loves doing. So he finds himself annoyed to be working with the boss's kid, Andy Fleming, who\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"We Could Be So Good","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/We-Could-Be-So-Good-200x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9151,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9151","url_meta":{"origin":25602,"position":2},"title":"Where the Dead Lie","author":"Michelle","date":"July 18, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Where the Dead Lie (2017) C.S. Harris Set in London in September 1813. In case you've lost track, this is book 12 in the Sebastian St Cry series. Sebastian is becoming used to fatherhood, and although his sister still hates him, Sebastian's father has been reaching out to Sebastian, to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/07\/Where-the-Dead-Lie.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":20808,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/20808","url_meta":{"origin":25602,"position":3},"title":"Glass Tidings","author":"Michelle","date":"September 25, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Glass Tidings (2018) Amy Jo Cousins Something caught at my memory and made me think of this story. Eddie witnesses a hit-and-run accident, and is asked to remain in town over night until the police can take his statement. A soft jacket dropped onto his shoulders. Eddie shrugged it off\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"Glass Tidings","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/11\/Glass-Tidings.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":592,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/592","url_meta":{"origin":25602,"position":4},"title":"The Man with the Golden Torc","author":"Michelle","date":"June 6, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"The Man with the Golden Torc (2007) Simon R. Green Eddie Drood is a field agent for a family that knows more secrets than anyone else, and has magical and mechanical powers that would make mages and mad scientists drool in envy. Unfortunately for Eddie (known on the streets as\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Man with the Golden Torc","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/06\/man_golden_torc.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2979,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2979","url_meta":{"origin":25602,"position":5},"title":"Within the Flames","author":"Michelle","date":"June 5, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Within the Flames (2011) Marjorie M. Liu For the most part I've enjoyed Marjorie M. Liu's Dirke & Steele series, but there have been a couple times I just couldn't get into the story. This was one of those times. I started this months and months ago, but would read\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Fantasy"","block_context":{"text":"Fantasy","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/fantasy"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/06\/Within-the-Flames.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25602\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}